CELEBRATE 420!!! POT, WEED, MARIJUANA REDUCES CANCER, TUMORS

Today is April 20th but besides that it is also 420. What is 420?

What does 420 mean? There are varying theories on the origin of 420. Some say that 420 originated from a police code that announces marijuana use is taking place. Yet another story is that a group of guys (Waldo’s) in the 1970’s made 4:20 their official meeting time to smoke marijuana after school. Whether or not 4:20 p.m. is the best time of day for your first hit depends on your own body, your own needs. Some folks feel that waiting until 4:20 enhances ones appreciation of the herb. Of course, your mileage may vary.

In the 21st Century, 420 is firmly established as a code amongst tokers, a time of day and even sort of a toker’s New Year’s Day. It’s in our culture now and only time will tell where it ends up.

April 20th (4/20) is another usage, meaning that it is time for to plant before the summer.

Whatever the real story is, 420 has been an important part of the marijuana culture since the 1970’s. The significance of 420 has been kept underground and is mostly known only among marijuana smokers. Many non-smokers aren’t aware of the symbolism when they see someone wearing a T-shirt or baseball cap that says 420 across the front.

When the 420 icon is somehow discreetly worked into a mainstream product like a film, marijuana users take notice. The film Pulp Fiction is rumored to have had all clocks throughout the movie set to 4:20. Marijuana smokers familiar with the symbol picked up on it—most people, however, did not.

While some marijuana smokers are using 420 as a code that enables them to openly speak about marijuana in front of parents or teachers. 420 has been to some, a sacred symbol for nearly 30 years.

Simply put, 420 is a symbol of cannabis and its culture. Today, April 20th events are international, and 4:20 pm has become sort of a world wide “burn time”.

A Spanish medical team’s study released in Madrid in February 2000 has shown that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in marijuana, destroys tumors in lab rats. These findings, however, are not news to the U.S. government. A study in Virginia in 1974 yielded similar results but was suppressed by the DEA, and in 1983 the Reagan/Bush administration tried to persuade U.S. universities and researchers to destroy all cannabis research work done between 1966 and 1976, including compendiums in libraries…http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/22-us-government-repressed-marijuana-tumor-research/

‎”Antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids,” an article in a 1975 Journal of the National Cancer Institute –The summary of the Virginia study begins, “Lewis lung adenocarcinoma growth was retarded by the oral administration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinol (CBN)” — two types of cannabinoids, a family of active components in marijuana. “Mice treated for 20 consecutive days with THC and CBN had reduced primary tumor size.”

The 1975 journal article doesn’t mention breast cancer tumors, which featured in the only newspaper story ever to appear about the 1974 study — in the Local section of the Washington Post on August 18, 1974. Under the headline, “Cancer Curb Is Studied,” it read in part:

“The active chemical agent in marijuana curbs the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice and may also suppress the immunity reaction that causes rejection of organ transplants, a Medical College of Virginia team has discovered.” The researchers “found that THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent.” – http://www.alternet.org/story/9257/comments/?page=2